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Teen girl arrested for punching principal, biting teachers

Former Cal High student in Juvenile Hall after fights involving up to 12 others

A teenage girl punched California High School's principal in the face on Thursday and bit two teachers after a series of fights broke out on the campus, San Ramon Valley Unified School District spokesman Terry Koehne said today.

The first fight broke out on the campus at 9870 Broadmoor Drive in San Ramon, earlier in the day and appears to have been an isolated incident, Koehne said.

But during the lunch hour, which runs from about 12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m., several more fights erupted in the school's outdoor quad area.

The final fight was between three girls, one of whom went into the school's computer room, where the principal and two teachers attempted to restrain her. She broke free from them and punched the principal and bit the teachers, Koehne said. She then broke a window and tried to escape.

San Ramon police arrested her and she was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was treated for cuts caused by the broken window. She was then booked into Juvenile Hall in Martinez.

The principal and the two teachers she attacked were not seriously injured and did not require medical attention, Koehne said.

The girl had been a student at California High School earlier this year, but in March she enrolled in the school district's continuation school in Danville.

Koehne said he was not sure why she came to the campus of California High School on Thursday, but said he believed tensions were already brewing at the school before she arrived.

Investigators believe that at least one of the fights may have been racially motivated and triggered by an incident earlier this week at the San Ramon Skate Park involving a group of black youth and a group of white youth, Koehne said.

So far it appears that between six and 12 students were involved in the fights Thursday, Koehne said, and the school district is still working out what the consequences will be for their actions.

The school district was working with Police Department on the investigation into what happened.

In the meantime, there were additional staff members on campus today as well as three San Ramon police officers.